Interview with another vampire
by bahu
Summary: My name was Bart, but after my transformation, I was looking for a name equally short, but possibly more... dramatic. I wish to tell you about my transformation. If you would like a glimpse of the world of vampires and lycans, I am your best bet.
1. Transformation

The beginning was stupid, really. You know how in movies everything always slowly builds up to a climax? Usually, you also hear some crescending dramatic music to add an additional clue that something serious is about to happen. In reality, the most violent and shocking events are so shocking, exactly because they come unannounced. One moment, you see a good friend across the street, and the next moment you're killed by a truck because you neglected to look around before you cross the street. In my case, one moment I was taking an evening stroll as a tourist in Prague, and the next moment, I was the bewildered spectator of a very messy fight, caught in the cross-fire between lycans and vampires.

Of course, I was not familiar with the terms, back then. All I saw was a bunch of people in fancy black-and-white evening dresses, and horrible, horrible beasts with bloodcurdling howls and inch-long claws. The fancy dressers were armed with impressive-looking sub-machine guns, but these beasts were so strong and fast, they could tear down a solid wall with a single bash of their arms -- or paws.

I was far too scared to follow anything of the battle, and I literally tried to melt into the wall of a dark corner. Suddenly, dust and brick showered over me, and I covered my head to shield my eyes against the dust. I remember some shrieks and howls, a series of loud cracks that I now know to be bones shattering, and a dead vampire fell right in front of me, body and face both impossibly twisted and contorted. One of his eyes seemed to stare right at me, and he seemed very pissed off that I hadn't done anything to help him. It must have taken a while for me to shake off the paralysis, but eventually I crawled towards the dead body, pried the gun from his lifeless fingers, and then scampered back to what I considered a safe corner. Now, having gained some more experience, I wouldn't be caught dead in a corner anymore. Literally.

Anyway, she must have spotted me when I had left my dark corner for the gun, because a few seconds later, she jumped down from somewhere higher on the building, and even as the leather boots made heavy contact with the soil, she veered up smoothly and walked straight to my hide-out. I may have been scared and I certainly lacked any real battle experience, but I did know how to handle a gun, so in one smooth movement I cocked the gun and had the muzzle trained on her chest.

I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was, but it was definitely a predatory beauty, and when she flashed a brief, barely amused smile to me, I was far from reassured by the sight of her fangs. She had thick brown half-long hair, and she was dressed entirely in black leather. Even then, I could see differences in dressing style among the dressers. There were people who were literally in evening dress, a costume or a long gown, while the woman in front of me took the "dress to kill" adagio obviously very literally. There was something decidedly ... combative ... in the thick, unyielding leather jacket that acted as armor, the heavy leather boots and of course the two modified berreta's she held in her hands. I held the submachine gun a little higher, both for myself to make sure it was aimed correctly, and for her to see the gun more clearly.

"It won't do much against me", she commented off-handedly. Now that I know her by reputation as well as by name, I'm amazed she didn't just put me down with a single bullet of hers. Instead, she casually shifted position and looked around briefly, to make sure she wasn't missing a vital part of the action.

"We use those against the lyc.. those beasts. They won't stop.. one of us." Even though she was obviously trying to explain the situation and avoiding any terms that might confuse me, none of her comments made any sense to me. I just stood there, confused and scared, and I slowly shifted to a more comfortable position so that I could keep the gun trained at her. And that's when another one of those sudden, dramatic and unannounced events unfolded.

I remember her eyes shifting into focus on something else than me, and both her arms swung up to bring the beretta's in line with her eyes. Outside of my conscious will, my reflexes reacted to the sight of the guns raising, ordering my fingers to squeeze off a round of bullets. The next moment, I was swept sideways by something big, strong and snarling. There was a fight where several lycans tangled with several vampires, and I was tossed around like a man overboard during a sea storm. I remember being bitten, falling into a sewer hole, and the fight rolled past the hole, further down the street. That was my luck, because if any of the clans had noticed the blood in my neck, none of them would have taken any risks and I wouldn't have survived that fateful night.

Later that night when I gained consciousness again, my body was already shaking and my head throbbing like I was a crack junk who hadn't scored for an eternity. Although I didn't know it back than, I was experiencing my transformation, and there was nobody around to help me or even just tell me what was going on. It was a terrible experience that I do not wish to undergo again, but still I consider that night to be one of the luckiest of my life. I have -quite literally- tumbled into a whole new world, and I feel more alive for it.

* * *


	2. new identity

But the night I changed, and my very first transformation, that was brutal. I felt like I had been tossed around like an old rag, and every joint had been bent the wrong way. My head felt like it was bolted on in the wrong sense. It was throbbing totally out of sync with my erratic heartbeat, and my thinking was clouded by pain, and hunger. Mostly hunger. It was a craving unlike anything I had ever experienced.

Apart from pain and hunger, I didn't remember who I was, where I came from, what had happened, or where I was going. It turned out that I was, in fact, wandering off to a particularly sleazy part of town.

- "Hey, you! Git ya self outta here, piece of trash! Sheez, you not even WORTH shakin' out!" He was weaving a knife at me.

The second guy seemed to agree, an equally scornful expression on his while while he put his knife back where he pulled it from, behind his belt.

- "Huh. Looks like somebody beat us to it. Get it? Beat us to it? Hah!"

I didn't stop. I don't think I noticed the two thugs at that time, although now I can remember them clearly. I sort of shoved my way through them, and they certainly didn't appreciate that. The first thug still had his knife in his hand, so almost without thinking, he retaliated my rudeness with a slash in my side.

That's pretty much all I remember. I mean, there are vague memories of the sound of bones snapping, and gnarling, and more bones splintering, and some pain for me as well. But the next thing I remember, I'm 2 blocks away, running, and covered in blood. Someone else's blood apparently, because I'm suddenly wide awake again, the pain has has turned into a vibrant rush, and the hunger is forgotten.

I ran for 2 more blocks, although I wasn't sure why. But I did it without breaking a sweat, without the least bit of panting. When I crossed a small open space with a beautiful little fountain, I stopped, and hesitated. There was a sense of urgency inside me, a feeling of being on the run, even though I knew with absolute certainty my two assailants were dead. Judging by the blood on my t-shirt, they were minced meat, but I didn't give them a second thought. There was something else.

It was already very late in the night (or early in the morning, as you prefer), and I knew that from the next day on, I would be on the run. I figured the authorities would question me about the bizarre gunfight earlier tonight, as well as the brutal murder of two young men a few blocks back. I didn't have any papers with me, nothing to back my story, and besides, I was guilty as sin -- for the last two murders, at least.

I took a look at my own clothes: they were torn to pieces, and soaking with blood. I took off what was left of them, and washed myself in the public fountain. After less than a minute of searching, I found some clothes hanging off a line to dry that would fit me. The ice-cold water had sharpened my thinking. The sense of urgency was stronger than ever.

Dawn was breaking. I fought the urge to hide, reasoning that I would stand a better chance if I left Prague before the police would set up roadblocks, or anything. My first task would be to return to my hotel room. Although I had lost my wallet, there was still some cash in my room and it would also provide me with clothes good enough to blend in with a crowd.

From the fountain to my hotel was a half hour walk normally, but I managed to cut the last 20 minutes in half, because I had broken into a run. It was early morning now, the sky had turned a distinctly lighter shade of blue. I figured I couldn't just walk into the hotel, there would be too many members of the staff asking awkward questions. Luckily, my balcony was easily accessible if I jumped over a few roofs and ledges. Funnily enough, I didn't stop to think about my new-found dexterity and strength. I simply landed on my balcony and forced my way into the suite.

Closing the window behind me, a flash of reflected sunlight shot over my body. I shrieked and jumped away, out of the blistering sunlight. Fortunately, the momentum of the window caused it to bang shut, the white patch of filtered sunlight sitting innocently on the wall. I hastily closed the curtains.

For a moment, I stood still in my bedroom. Panting, wincing. My eyes caught my own reflection in the life size mirror on the wardrobe. Small wisps of smoke curled from the back of my body, but I was all right. Closer inspection revealed that I had gained quite a muscular build over the night. And, much to my surprise... a very prominent set of fangs!

---

I had heard the stories, I remembered (much of) what had happened to me last night, so there was only one possible conclusion upon seeing the fangs. But I must've been staring at my mirror image for several minutes in complete bafflement.

A knock on the door interrupted my ... well, lack of thought.

- "cleaning service!"

- "ah ... wait!"

I jumped to the door and knocked over a chair in the process. The door had already opened halfway. I couldn't bang it shut without being overly rude, so I just stopped it from opening any more, and showed as little as possible of myself.

- "Not today, thank you!" I mumbled, afraid to show my teeth. "Bit of a ... a long night. Yes, a hangover. I'll sleep in today."

The maiden gave me a politely annoyed look, reminded me about the "do not disturb" sign, and was on her way.

I was left to myself to think about what it was that vampires did, during the day. 


End file.
